Department of Government

Assistant Professor Zachary Elkins’ research focuses on issues of democracy, institutional reform, research methods, and national identity, with an emphasis on cases in Latin

Zachary Elkins is Assistant Professor of Government at the University of Texas, Austin. He received his B.A. from Yale University and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on issues of democracy, institutional reform, research methods, and national identity, with an emphasis on cases in Latin America.

He is currently completing two book manuscripts, one entitled Designed by Diffusion: Constitutional Reform in Developing Democracies that examines the design and diffusion of democratic institutions, and another entitled the Endurance of National Constitutions that explores the factors that lead to the survival constitutions. His articles have appeared in journals such as the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, and International Organization.

With Tom Ginsburg at the University of Chicago, Professor Elkins co-directs both the Comparative Constitutions Project, an NSF-funded initiative to understand the causes and consequences of constitutional choices, and the website constitutionmaking.org, which provides resources and analysis for constitutional drafters throughout the world.